Transgender woman Avery Edison will be sent back to the U.K. over visa issue

A transgender woman who was detained at Pearson airport over a visa issue Monday before being sent to a correctional facility for men, and then on to a facility for women, will be flown back to the United Kingdom Thursday night.

As the result of a Wednesday hearing, Avery Edison will be sent back home with “no exclusionary notice that would prevent her from visiting Canada in the future,” according to a tweet by her Canadian girlfriend, Romy Sugden.

“She is so happy about the outcome,” Ms. Sugden later told the National Post. “She’s looking forward to being released and she’ll breathe a big sigh of relief to be back on her soil.”

.@aedison Avery will be flown home to UK tomorrow night, w/ no exclusionary notice that would prevent her from visiting Canada in the future

The controversy began Monday night when Ms. Edison, a British comedian, tweeted from the airport that she had been detained because she overstayed her student visa the last time she was in Canada. She had returned — with a non-refundable return ticket and a copy of her lease for her apartment in the United Kingdom — to stay for three weeks, see her girlfriend and other friends, and pick up what she had left behind.

From the airport, Ms. Edison was moved to the Maplehurst Correctional Complex for men in Milton. Following an online uproar regarding her placement in a male facility, she was moved to the nearby Vanier Centre for Women late on Tuesday night.

Until her flight back, Ms. Edison will be kept in the women’s prison where she was sent on Tuesday, according to tweets by Ms. Sugden, using Ms. Edison’s Twitter account. Should Ms. Edison return to Canada in the future, “there will be a lot more red tape,” wrote Ms. Sugden.

Just to clarify, Avery will continue to be detained at the Women's facility for one more night until her flight out. -RR

“Avery knows how lucky she is to have a platform to speak out on this,” said Ms. Sugden, speaking of the Twitter followers Ms. Edison has gained working as a comedian. “Most trans men and women don’t have that.”

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released a statement Wednesday morning that stated it was aware of the case but couldn’t make specific comments due to privacy.

“We are committed to ensuring the fair treatment of all travellers and that the criteria and indicators used by our officers do not discriminate on grounds protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act.”

It also went on to state that the CBSA asks that their provincial service providers where possible “to avoid co-mingling those detained for immigration purposes with those who are in custody for criminal reasons” but that the decision on where an individual will be detained is up to the provider.